Flaver of the Weak
by Crystal Arcanine
Summary: Insipered by song Flavor of the Weak. AAMR! Ummm I don't know how to summerize it, but it is kinda in my authors notes in the fic. So how about you read it and review huh? Um, please? I think it' good....
1. Chapter 1

Umm hi guys. Uhhh this is kinda a different fic then one would think I would write. First, there's no pokemon in it first off. Just the human characters. So I guess it's an AU. And there might be a bit of OCC, but I don't think so, you decide that. Ummm I actually got this idea by listening to Flavor of the Week by American Hi-Fi on Now 7, though the song isn't in the fic. It is a AAMR, no matter what you might first think. Rated PG-13 for one or two swear words, and Ash says something a little umm Vulgar (?) when he gets really angry at Brock, but ummm yeah. Speaking of Brock, if you really like him, you might not want to read the fic. I needed a bad guy, and he was it. It works for the story though.. Anyway, tell me what you think, feedback would be appreciated. Flame me if you want too. I don't know, this fic might need flames. Well, enough with my babbling just read and see the fic for yourselves!  
  
Ages- Ash- 22 Misty- 22 Brock-25 Tracy-25  
  
Disclaimer: I don't think I own anything. *thinks hard* nope. I own nothing.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Misty sighed as she scrubbed the ketchup stain out of Brock's favorite shirt. It had to be clean before he came back this afternoon. He promised her he'd take her out to dinner tonight. Misty vigorously scrubbed the stain. She wanted to be done soon so that she'd have time to get ready before he came home from work. Finally, she rinsed the shirt one more time, then put it in the drier. Misty got up and stretched, then glanced through the laundry room door, into the kitchen. The clock told her it was 3:00. In just two more hours Brock would be home! Smiling happily, Misty rushed into her room to get ready for tonight.  
  
"Which dress should I wear..?" Misty asked herself as she looked through her closet. Misty picked out her new dress, the one that was blue silk with little green sparkles. She giggled has she remembered how Ash had helped her pick it out. She had asked him to help her pick put a dress that would really get Brock to notice her. When she had tried it on, Ash had made a big show about how great she looked. Actually pretending to faint at the site of her! Grinning Misty shook out her hair, and laid the dress on the bed. Then she went into the bathroom to get ready.  
  
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Ash stretched as he looked at his watch. 5:00, time to get out of this stupid office and go home! He was so glad it was Friday. He'd planned on spending all of Saturday resting up for his big meeting on Monday. Ash pushed his chair away from his desk, and spun around. He hoped out of his chair and grabbed his brief case. Then he took his hat off the hat rack and put it on his head.  
  
"Don't you ever get tired of wearing that stupid hat?" a voice asked. Ash turned and saw Tracy leaning against the door. He was grinning. Ash grinned back. "Aw come on. You know you wouldn't recognize me if I wasn't wearing the hat" he joked as he rearranged it to his liking on his head. Tracy rolled his eyes, then followed Ash as he walked out of his office.  
  
"Do you want to come with me and Brock down to the club?" Tracy asked him as they walked to the elevator. "It's Belly Dancer night and Brock got some tickets!" Tracy turned to push the first floor button, so he didn't see Ash's look of surprise and confusion. Tracy turned around again and noticed Ash's worried look.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"Brock can't be going to the club tonight" Ash told him, frowning. "He's taking Misty out tonight. She was really excited, I helped her pick out a dress and everything a couple of days ago." Tracy shrugged.  
  
"Maybe he cancelled with Misty. I'm sure he's going to the club tonight. He invited me at lunch." The elevator door binged, and opened onto the first floor.  
  
"there's Brock!" Tracy said, pointing to the exit. "Let's go ask him" Ash was already walking forward.  
  
"Yo! Brocko!" Ash yelled, waving his arm a little to get Brock's attention. Brock turned and saw Ash.  
  
"Hey, Ash, just the guy I wanted to see" Brock said, clapping Ash on the shoulder. He reached onto his pocket and pulled out three tickets.  
  
"Today's your lucky day man! I got three tickets to the club. Its Belly Dancer night" Brock wiggled his eyebrows and licked his lips excitedly. Ash shook off Brock's hand and stared at him accusingly.  
  
"Brock don't you remember? You promised Misty you'd take her out tonight! She's been looking forward to it all week!" Brock shrugged.  
  
"So? We'll go some where some other time. I'M going to the club. Coming Tracy?" Tracy looked at Ash , shrugged, and followed Brock out the door. Ash clenched his fists and glared after Brock and Tracy. Then he stomped over to his car, opened the door, and threw his briefcase in. Jumping into the driver's seat, he put his foot on the gas and cursing, drove off.  
  
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Misty stared at the clock.. It had just turned 6. Misty slumped into the couch hugging her knees to her chest. She picked up the remote and turned on the t.v. As she watched tears slowly ran down her cheeks, smearing her makeup to land on her dress.  
  
*2 weeks later*  
  
Misty sat on the bed as she painted her nails. She could faintly hear Brock in the other room, talking on the phone and laughing. She hoped Brock would get off the phone. Her best friend, Marina, was supposed to call her soon. Waving her hands to dry them, she absentmindedly looked at the posters of Brock's old girlfriends on the wall. She had asked Brock numerous times to take them down, and each time he had gotten angry. He would yell at her and tell her that this was HIS house and he could put up anything he wanted. Now Misty just tried to ignore them. Getting up off the bed, she went into the living room where Brock was.  
  
"Brock?" she asked hesitantly. Brock briefly glanced up at her, then away.  
  
"Could you maybe get off the phone soon?" she asked him hesitantly. "Marina is supposed to call and..." Misty trailed off as Brock put his hand on the mouthpiece of the phone.  
  
"I'm talking to her right now"  
  
Misty opened her mouth in surprise, then uttered a quiet "oh" and went back into the bedroom. 3 days later, Marina's picture was on the wall.  
  
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Ash lay on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He silently cursed Brock, Tracy, himself, and the world in general. Why couldn't he do anything about Misty? Ash wished passionately that he could show Misty that Brock was just using her. Actually, what he really wanted to do was punch Brock's face in, but he knew that wouldn't solve anything. Ash turned onto his side and looked at the picture of Misty that he had on his dresser. She was in the ocean, gliding through the water like a mermaid. He remembered how for her birthday last year, he had taken her to the beach since Brock had been away on a business trip. Ash snorted and picked up the picture.  
  
"Business trip. Since when does Brock have a business trip in Hawaii?" He asked himself. As he stared at the picture he remembered how happy Misty had looked as she swum in the ocean. Water was Misty's favorite thing in the world.  
  
"not that Brock would know" Ash grumbled to himself.  
  
"he doesn't know a thing about her, but he means the world to Misty.." Ash still didn't know how that had happened. One day, they were all just friends. Then Misty's sisters died, in a car crash. Misty had been devastated. She had turned from a highly excitable, jubilant girl to a quiet depressed one in a matter of days. Ash got up and paced the room, then angrily punched the wall. That's when Brock made his move. Ash didn't know exactly what he had said to her, but it must have been along the lines of "I Love You" or some crap like that. If Brock loved Misty, he'd burn his hat and then eat the ashes.  
  
"No, he just wants to use her" Ash shouted angrily to himself. "and like a fool, you're to afraid to do something about it." Ash hadn't realized that he loved Misty until AFTER Brock had taken her. What perfect timing. It tore him up to see Brock hurt her, but Ash was afraid. Afraid that if he did something, Misty would hate him for it. Brock, he meant everything to Misty.  
  
"I gotta get my mind off this" Ash said to himself as he repositioned his hat. Grabbing his wallet and car keys, he went toward his garage and got into his car. Maybe he could forget his troubles for a little while at the bar.  
  
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Misty landed with a thud onto the couch. She had a bruise on her left cheek and her arms had cuts on them. Brock stood over her, his speech was slurred and his eyes burned with drunkened hatred.  
  
"Please Brock.stop it." Misty whimpered as she cowered in a corner on the couch.  
  
"ShUt uP" Brock shouted in a drunken daze. He raised his hand again and slapped Misty's other cheek. Misty cringed on the corner of the couch, another bruise forming.  
  
"I'm go-o-o-ing out!" he told her as he grabbed his coat. He had to make three snatches for it before he had it. The he charged out the door, drunk. Misty stayed where she was, curled in a little ball, crying. She knew that no one loved her. After her sister's died, she had been devastated. Even though they always treated her like a runt, she had always thought in her heart that someday, she could be good enough for them, and they would love her. When the died however, she had lost her only chance to be loved. Or so she had thought. Then Brock had come and told her that he loved her. She had taken what she thought to be his love, happy that she had found someone who cared for her. But after the first couple of weeks, Brock had turned colder, meaner, and distant. And yet she stayed, yearning for the love she had never got to have.  
  
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Ash sat on one of the barstools as he sipped his beer and idly looked around. The low lights o the bar plus the smoke from cigarettes made it hard to see anything, but he could've sworn he just saw Brock. Taking one last sip to empty his cup, Ash paid for the drink and jumped off the stool. If Brock was here, then Ash wanted to be gone. Seeing him would only make Ash feel worse. As he headed for the door he heard Brock's voice, slurred from having one beer to many.  
  
"Yeah, I showed that bitch a thing or two" Brock said loudly to his companions, two very sleazy looking girls.  
  
"tried to keep me from going out she did, so I showed her who was the man of the house" Ash frowned and moved into the shadows so that Brock couldn't see him. Was he talking about Misty?  
  
"gave her a good'un right on the face. And after just three blows, she was as submissive as a mongrel dog." one of the girls giggled and put her arms around Brock.  
  
"that'll teach girl Misty. I love a man who shows his dominance" Ash burned with white-hot fury. How dare he do those things to Misty! Before he could think, Ash stepped out of the shadows, and went toward the booth Brock was in. Brock looked up and sneered at Ash.  
  
"What do YOU want, sissy boy?" Brock slurred. Ash brought back his fist and slammed it into Brock's face. The girls screamed and fled and Ash punched Brock again. Then he grabbed Brick's shirt and pulled him close.  
  
"if you ever" Ash whispered, fury in his face "touch Misty again, I swear I'll take your balls and make you eat them" then he threw Brock into the table, pulled down his hat, and left the bar before the manger could call the police. Brock watched Ash go, reckless anger in his eyes.  
  
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Misty shivered as she looked at the knife in her hand, then at her left wrist. It would be so simple, so easy to just end it all now. She could give herself eternal release from her tortuous life. But as she looked at the knife, she hesitated.  
  
"come on Misty" she whispered to herself. "it's not like you have anything to live for. If some one was meant to love you, it would've happened by now" this is what she told herself as she brought the knife down toward her skin. Right before the steel touched her wrist however, she heard a knock at the door. Misty whirled around in fear. Brock? No, he wouldn't have knocked.  
  
"Misty?" a voice called anxiously. "Misty come on, are you in there?"  
  
"Ash?" she called out hesitantly as she set the knife down. Of all the worse possible timing. She didn't want Ash to see her like this! She had bruises on her face, cuts on her arms, her shirt was torn and her cheeks were tear stained.  
  
"Yeah Misty! It's me. Could ya open up?" Ash called through the door.  
  
"Go away!" Misty shouted as she crepted into the hall.  
  
"Dammit Misty! I will NOT go away!" Ash yelled. Misty started in surprise. She'd never heard Ash swear before. Misty heard a thump and the door quivered. Then, after about 5 seconds, there was another thump.  
  
"Okay okay! Just don't break down the door" Misty called out as she slowly reached for the doorknob. It was dark outside and she hadn't turned on any lights. Maybe Ash wouldn't notice how.dredged up she looked. Misty opened the door and looked down, so to hide her face. Ash reached out his hand, and with a careful finger, lifted up her chin so he could look at her.  
  
"Misty.." he sighed and gently smiled at her.  
  
"come on, get your things, and I'll take you back to my place and get ya cleaned up." Misty looked away and shook her head.  
  
"Brock will be home soon and." she broke off as Ash took her hands. She was surprised at how warm and comforting they felt to her.  
  
"Misty, Brock isn't coming back anytime soon. Please" he stared at her with his soft brown eyes; Misty just couldn't break away from them.  
  
"come with me?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
So...should I write the sequel to it, or forget about this fic and just go back to my other? I will sequel it if you want me to, but if it's no good, then tell me! Hmm, well I guess if I don't get any reviews, I'll know it's no good, but I'd appreciate some any way, even if their flames. So I urge you do click the little review button down there on the bottom left. Well, ttfn! 


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to every one who reviewed! I was hoping some people would like it. Here's the next chapter, and please review once you read it. Oh! And a big hi and a wave to Ara-chan Uchu!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Ash unlocked the door to his apartment and carried Misty's suitcase in, with Misty following behind. She looked around at his apartment, never having actually been in it herself. Ash set her suitcase down and turned to face her. He smiled and gestured to the couch.  
  
"Go ahead and make yourself at home! I'll be right back" He left through a doorway and Misty gingerly sat down on the soft, leather couch. She didn't have to wait long, for soon Ash came back, with a bottle in his hands.  
  
"This stuff is great for cuts and things" he told her as he sat besides her. Misty just stared at him. Ash gently took her right arm and squeezed some of the ointment on to it. Then he lightly and softly rubbed it into the cuts on her arm. Misty blushed at the contact, but didn't make a move to pull her hand away. Ash frowned a little as he concentrated on rubbing in the ointment without hurting Misty. He wondered if he should ask how long Brock had been doing this. He didn't want to bring it up, but he had to know.  
  
"Misty." he said as he started on her other arm.  
  
"How long has this been going on?" Misty looked down and away. She didn't want Ash to know what a weak person she was. She was ashamed of herself. Ash gently touched her chin and turned her head to face him.  
  
"Misty, I know it has to be hard for you, but..please, I need to know." Misty swallowed hard as she looked into his eyes, and she could feel the tears well up.  
  
"I was..never good enough for him. There was always fault with..something I had done, so he would say he had to punish me. It was usually, when he got.." she trailed off again and looked away as a tear trailed down her cheek. Ash growled under his breath and anger blazed in his eyes. When Brock got drunk, he'd hit her. Ash knew that Brock got drunk a lot, so this must have been going on for some time. Ash took a dab of ointment on his finger and rubbed it into the bruise on Misty's cheek.  
  
"Misty. None of this is your fault. Brock is a jerk for not seeing what a treasure you are" Misty felt the blood rush to her cheeks when Ash said that, as he caressed her face. No one had ever said anything like that to her before. Ash finished rubbing in the ointment, but found he couldn't stop caressing her face. His fingers trailed down her skin and brushed over her lips, then moved to cup her cheek. Misty closed her eyes and leaned into his hand, hardly aware that she was doing so. What was this she was feeling? Brock never made her feel so, warm and content. Ash swallowed hard and abruptly took his trembling hand away.  
  
"Y-you must be t-tired" he stuttered his cheeks glowing. Misty sighed a little. She missed his warm hand on her face. Ash stood and offered her his hand.  
  
"Come on, let's get you to bed"  
  
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Ash opened the door to his bedroom, where Misty's suitcase was already laying on the bed.  
  
"You can stay here." Ash said then pointed to a couple of doors. "That door leads to the bathroom, the other is a closet" Misty turned around to face him. She put her hands on her hips and shook her head.  
  
"I can't stay here! Where will you sleep?" Ash just smiled and shrugged.  
  
'The couch is quite comfortable for me." Misty chewed on her lip and shook her head again.  
  
"But Ash.. I can't take your room. I'll sleep on the couch. I-" she looked down.  
  
"I don't want to be a burden."  
  
"Misty" something in his voice made her look up into his smiling face.  
  
"You could never be a burden" Misty's eyes widened. But before she could blush over what he said, Ash pushed her into the room and winked at her.  
  
"I'll be on the couch if you need anything. Try to get some sleep okay? We'll talk more tomorrow" and with that he left, quietly shutting the door behind him. Misty stared at the door for a while, then went to her suitcase. Pulling out her sleep shirt, she headed for the bathroom. She'd feel more like herself after a shower.  
  
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Misty came out of the shower, feeling much more refreshed. her hair was down and she wore a slightly revealing nightgown, which only just covered her bottom-half. She sat down on the bed and looked around. Something on the dresser caught her eye. Reaching over, she picked up a picture. She gasped softly when she saw whom of. It was her, last year when Ash had taken her to the beach for her birthday present. She didn't even know she had taken a picture of her. Looking at it, she remembered that day. How lonely she was because Brock was gone, then her surprise when Ash showed up in his swim suit and told her she was going to the beach. She had...a lot of fun, that day. She gently put the picture back on the dresser and got into bed. She turned off the lamp and closed her eyes, willing sleep to come.  
  
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Ash lay stretched out on the couch, under a blanket, wearing just his boxer shorts.. He couldn't get to sleep, but he didn't really mind. There was too much to think about. Ash could kick himself for not seeing what was happening between Misty and Brock sooner. He made a silent vow that no one would ever harm her again, for as long as he lived. He wondered what exactly it was that made Misty desire Brock's affection. He knew it had to have something to do with her sisters dying, but even grief stricken, he would think that Misty wouldn't be that desperate for love that she'd put up with Brock and his beatings. Would she? It was amidst these thoughts when Ash heard a strange sound, coming from his bedroom. It was muffled, but something inside Ash told him to see what it was. He got up off the couch and headed toward his room, glancing at the clock along the way and seeing it was just turning 1am.  
  
Misty buried her face in her pillow as the tears flowed faster. She had a nightmare, the same one ever since her sisters died. She had it almost every night, but this time it was different. Brock had been in it too. As she cried into the pillow, she heard a small creak. Misty looked up to see Ash standing in the doorway, a worried and confused expression on his face.  
  
"Misty? Are you alright?" Ash asked as he crept toward her. Misty sat up and tried to wipe away her tears before Ash noticed, hoping that the darkness would cover up the act. But it was too late, he had already seen. Ash sat on the bed and wrapped his arms around Misty, pulling her to him. Misty tried to resist him, but gave up and buried her face in his chest, surrendering to the comfort he was offering. Ash held her and stroked her hair, gently rocking her. After awhile her tears slowed, the stopped all together. They remained in that position however, neither wanting to break the moment. Finally, Ash hesitantly cleared his throat.  
  
"Misty.what happened? did you have a bad dream?" Misty nodded against his shoulder, and eased way from his embrace so that she could look at him.  
  
"Would you like to talk about it?" Ash asked concerned. "I know it always helped me when I talked about my nightmares" Misty looked down and away. Se had never told anyone about her nightmare, and she rarely even spoke about the night her sisters died. Looking up and into Ash's soft brown eyes however, she felt compelled to tell him.  
  
"My dream is about, the night my sisters died" Misty started. She refused to look at him, s she didn't see his eyes widen in surprise.  
  
" The-they, are going to go out, to a party or something. But, before they go out, they tell me how worthless I am. how I'm only good at cleaning the house. they said that I wasn't worthy t be their sister, because I'm ugly and scrawny. They laugh at me and make me clean up after them while they drink wine and party. They're drunk now, and they tell me to clean the mess they have made and that they're going out. I try to tell them not to go, that they shouldn't be driving. But they sneer and hit me. They say things like 'What do you know??' or 'your to stupid, you don't understand a thing'. Then they'd go out, and I'd follow them. normally, in my dream, they run into a tree or something, only this time it was different. This time they ran into another car, a car that Brock was in. Before they..before they die they scream in anguish at me. They scream "why?? why didn't you save us? it's all your fault!' and then I could see Brocks face, sneering at me. He says that, he hates me, and that he's never loved me, and it's my fault that I let them die!" And with that she broke out into tears again. Now she looked up into Ash's surprised face as the tears rolled down her face.  
  
"it's my fault! It was all my fault! I let them go out even tough they were drunk! I knew they were drunk but I let them go anyway. They'd hit me if I tied to stop them. So I let them go, and lost my only chance to be loved!" she was babbling now, she knew. But Ash still didn't move. Misty didn't notice, she just continued to shout her confession.  
  
"Then came Brock! he said he loved me, said he'd take care if me! Deep down I knew, he didn't love me, but I didn't care. It was a second chance! A second chance to be loved. And now I've lost that chance too!" She buried her face into her hands and cried.  
  
Ash sat on the bed as Misty cried unable to move. He had never known, never understood all that Misty had been going through. He had never realized just how bad her sisters had treated her, and just how much Misty had wanted to be loved. Ash could kill himself for not understanding all she had been through, was still going through! She had been through so much, been hurt so many times. He would never let her be hurt again. he abruptly snapped out of his trance and wrapped his arms around Misty again.  
  
"Misty, NONE of that was your fault! Your sisters were to stupid to realize what a treasure you are, and their stupidity killed them in the end. You did NOT kill them. They did it to themselves. You were never at fault. not for what your sisters, or Brock have done to you" Misty looked up at him, and whispered.  
  
"But if I had only just-" Ash put his finger to her lips and shook his head.  
  
"Misty, there was nothing you could have done. it wasn't your fault, and it never will be." Ash gently wiped away her tears and cupped her face in his hands, staring deeply into her eyes.  
  
"Your sisters and Brock were fools Misty. Fools for not seeing what a beautiful, passionate, caring, wonderful women you are." Misty blushed deeply at the compliments, and she shook slightly at the feeling of Ash's hands on her. Their faces were so close, their foreheads almost touching. Mist's heart felt like it was going to burst at anytime. What was this feeling?  
  
Ash swallowed hard and mentally ordered his hand to move away from Misty, but it ignored the order, to move and caress her soft skin. He couldn't stop himself from moving closer to her, until their lips were almost touching.  
  
"Do you really mean all of that?" Misty whispered as one of his hands moved down to wipe around her waist and the other gently brushed her cheek.  
  
"With all my heart." Ash whispered back. This is it! His mind screamed, tell her!  
  
"I-I, Love you, Misty" he said and closed the little gap between them. Misty didn't know what to do when she heard what Ash had just said, and was even more surprised when he kissed her. It wasn't a forceful, slobbering kiss like the ones Brock gave her. It was soft and gentle and made her heart sore. She closed her eyes and kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck. They held the kiss for more then a minute before they finally broke apart. Ash's face heated up and he gasped.  
  
"Oh man! Misty I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Misty cut him off as she through herself at him, clutching him tightly.  
  
"Please don't apologize" she said against his shoulder. "Please don't tell me that you didn't mean any of it"  
  
"I meant everything!" Ash exclaimed. "It's just I don't know if you-" Misty lifted her head and started into Ash's eyes.  
  
"I need you Ash" she whispered. "I need to know what it's like to be loved." She burrowed her head back into his chest.  
  
"I think I love you too"  
  
Ash wanted to shout his joy to the world, but instead captured her lips in his own again. Ash kissed all over her face and Misty moaned a little, falling back on the bed, and pulling Ash down on top of her. Ash trailed his kissed down her neck as her hands explored his chest and back. With extreme effort of will, Ash raised his head, only now noticing the revealing night gown Misty was in, what little clothes he was wearing, and were this could all be leading.  
  
"Misty..?" He asked huskily. Misty brought his face down and kissed him.  
  
"I need to you Ash" she whispered against his lips. Ash smiled shakily and continued kissing her as his hands trailed down her gown, then back up her skin. She lost all sense of the world as he said those three words she had gone past hoping for, all her life.  
  
"I love you"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Did this seem, I don't know, rushed to anyone? Personally, it seemed off or rushed or something just seems wrong with the way this chapter ended. But I couldn't find a way to change it, plus I wanted to get this chapter out. Anyone think I should still continue this? I won't blame you if you don't. Please review, even if it is a flame. I can only improve (I hope) as a writer, and criticism or anything would help me out in writing. So anyway, review and tell me what you though of this chapter. Thanks! 


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